Method to raise accuracy of targeting the segmentation for sample distribution

ABSTRACT

To enhance the targeting accuracy in providing services such as provision of samples for members by performing management of member information and authentication while securing personal anonymity. There is provided a center server and a store terminal. The center server gives a unique ID to a member application, sends it to a particular mobile information terminal and manages it as authentication information about a member who is the user of the mobile information terminal. In response to purchases of a particular article by the member, the store terminal inputs the ID from the mobile information terminal and inputs purchase information about the article the member purchases. The center server then acquires attribute information about a member identified by the ID. Then, by checking the purchase information, the attribute information and service information set in association with attribute information about the member and kinds of articles and stored in particular storage means, information about a service to be provided for the member is identified.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/959,116, filed Oct. 7, 2004, the disclosure of which is expresslyincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a system for managing information about membersand performing various services such as provision of samples dependingon the attributes of the members.

2. Background Description

As an approach to stimulate consumers' appetite for purchase ofarticles, such as cosmetics and health food, samples are distributed. Toenhance the effect of the approach, it is important to identify (target)an appropriate group of potential purchasers for an article art providea sample of the article for the group. Conventionally, as means forenhancing the accuracy of targeting the group of potential purchasers,there has been adopted a method of, based on the assumption that readersof particular magazines or purchasers of other articles are overlappedwith a group of potential purchasers for a target article, providing asample of the article for those who have purchased such magazines orother articles at stores. In this case, the result of distributingsamples may be managed by collecting information about the distributedsamples, for example, by reading bar-codes attached to the samplesprovided for the purchasers of the magazines and the like with the useof a terminal of a POS (point-of-sales) system.

Furthermore, personal information may be registered with a predetermineddatabase, and services, such as provision of samples, according to theattributes of each person may be performed, based on attributeinformation (such as interests, preferences, age, sex, and occupation)included in the personal information (Published Unexamined PatentApplication No. 2002-99700, for example). There is also proposed amechanism in which a member network is constructed online, samples aredistributed based on personal information and attribute informationabout the members, and questionnaires are distributed and collected viae-mail by utilizing the network in order to grasp the utilization trendafter the samples are distributed (Published Unexamined PatentApplication No. 2002-41754, for example).

By managing personal attribute information in a database anddistributing samples in consideration of the attributes of each personas in the prior-art techniques, the accuracy of targeting a group ofpotential purchasers for a target article can be enhanced, and therebyeffectively stimulating the consumers' appetite for the target article.

As described above, when attempting to stimulate consumers' appetite forpurchase of an article through services such as provision of samples, itis important to realize suitable targeting of a group of potentialpurchasers for the target article.

With the prior approach of providing samples for readers of magazinesand purchasers of other articles on the assumption that the readers andpurchasers are overlapped with a group of potential purchasers for atarget article, however, it is not possible to grasp in detail theattributes of the purchasers of magazines and other articles.

In addition, the overlap between the purchasers is presumed only basedon the past sales results of similar articles and the like. Therefore,the accuracy of targeting is limited.

By comparison, with the prior-art technique in which the target forwhich samples are to be provided is determined based on attributeinformation included in personal information registered with a database,the attributes of each of the registered persons can be grasped indetail, thereby enabling targeting with a high accuracy. In thistechnique, however, the personal information is registered with thedatabase, and therefore, consumers to be registered are apt to benegative in the registration with the database in fear that theirregistered personal information may be stolen or leaked. In such cases,the object of stimulating consumers'appetite for articles is notsatisfied even though the accuracy of targeting is high, since thenumber of persons to whom samples are to be provided decreases.

In addition to the case of distributing samples, the same problems asdescribed above are also caused in providing various services andinformation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a system and a method capable of registeringpersonal information with a database while securing anonymity of aperson and providing services and information for the person. Theinvention also is able to distribute samples based on high-accuracytargeting, thereby contributing to promotion of consumers' appetite forpurchase of their desired articles.

The invention, in one embodiment, is realized as a service provisionsystem provided with a server and a terminal device connected to theserver via a network. The server constituting the service provisionsystem is provided with: member information management mechanism (means)for managing identification information and attribute information aboutmembers; and service information management mechanism (means) formanaging service information set in association with the attributeinformation about the members and kinds of articles. The terminal deviceis provided with: purchase information input mechanism (means) forinputting purchase information about an article; and memberidentification information input mechanism (means) for inputtingidentification information about a member. In response to purchases of aparticular article by the member, the terminal device inputs purchaseinformation about the article and identification information about themember with the purchase information input mechanism (means) and themember identification information input mechanism (means) to send theinformation to the server. In response, the server identifies theattribute information about the member corresponding to the receivedidentification using the received identification information and theidentification information managed by the member information managementmechanism (means), identifies the service information managed by theservice information management mechanism (means) using the identifiedattribute information and article information included in the receivedpurchase information and sends the service information to the terminaldevice.

In this service provision system, when a member purchases a particulararticle, the terminal device inputs identification information about themember with the member identification information input mechanism(means) to send it to the server. Then, the server, using the memberidentification information managed by the member information managementmechanism (means), identifies attribute information about the membercorresponding to the identification information, identifies serviceinformation corresponding to the attribute information among the serviceinformation managed by the service information management mechanism(means) and sends it to the terminal device. In response, the terminaldevice checks the purchase information about the article inputted by thepurchase information input mechanism (means) against the serviceinformation returned from the sever to identify a service to be providedfor the member.

In this case, in the service provision system, information about samplesto be provided for the member can be acquired as service informationmanaged by the service information management mechanism (means). In thiscase, the terminal device outputs information indicating a sample to bedistributed to the member who has purchased the particular article basedon the sample information returned from the server.

The server can be configured to be further provided with: applicationstorage mechanism (means) storing an application program for managementof members; and application program sending control mechanism (means)for giving a unique ID to the application program stored in theapplication storage mechanism (means) and sending the applicationprogram to a particular information processor. In this case, theterminal device inputs the ID of the application program via the memberidentification information input mechanism (means) to send the ID to theserver. Meanwhile, the member information management mechanism (means)of the server manages the ID given to the application program by theapplication program sending control mechanism (means) as authenticationinformation about a member who is the user of the information processor,and, when receiving the ID from the terminal device, performsauthentication using the ID.

Furthermore, the service information management mechanism (means) of theserver manages data files available in the application program as theservice information, and the terminal device sends a data file, serviceinformation, which has been returned from the server to the informationprocessor which acquired the ID.

In one embodiment, the terminal device in the service provision systemis configured to further comprise a questionnaire storage mechanism(means) storing questionnaire forms created according to the kinds ofthe service information to be provided for the members. The server sendsinformation identifying a questionnaire form to be distributed to aparticular member together with the service information, to the terminaldevice, and the terminal device distributes a questionnaire formidentified by the information to the member (his information processingterminal).

Another aspect of the invention is realized as a server configured asdescribed below. That is, the server is provided with: sending/receivingmechanism (means) for sending/receiving data to/from other informationprocessors via a network; application storage mechanism (means) storingan application program for management of members; application programsending control mechanism (means) for giving a unique ID to theapplication program stored in the application storage mechanism (means)and controlling the sending/receiving mechanism (means) to send theapplication program to a particular information processor; memberinformation management mechanism (means) for managing the ID given tothe application program by the application program sending controlmechanism (means) as authentication information about a member who isthe user of the information processor; and service informationmanagement mechanism (means) for managing service information to beprovided for particular members in association with information aboutthe member to be provided with the services. In response to a receipt ofthe ID of the application program from a particular informationprocessor, the member information management mechanism (means) performsauthentication using the In, and the service information managementmechanism (means) identifies service information to be provided for amember identified by the authenticated ID and sends it to theinformation processor which sent the ID.

Another aspect of the invention is realized as a terminal device forinputting purchase information about articles in a POS system and thelike. The terminal device is provided with: purchase information inputmechanism (means) for inputting purchase information; and memberidentification information input mechanism (means) for inputting memberidentification information identifying a member who purchases thearticle; service information acquisition mechanism (means) for acquiringservice information associated with the member identificationinformation inputted by the member identification information inputmechanism (means), from a server; and service identifying mechanism(means) for identifying a service to be provided for the member bychecking the purchase information inputted by the purchase informationinput mechanism (means) and the service information acquired by theservice information acquisition mechanism (means).

Furthermore, the invention is also realized as a service provisionmethod for providing a service for a member using a computer asdescribed below. That is, in the service provision method, a unique IDis given to an application program for management of members and sent toa particular information processor; the ID is stored in a predeterminedstorage mechanism (means); and the ID is managed as authenticationinformation about a member who is the user of the information processor.In response to purchases of a particular article by the member, the IDof the application program is inputted from the information processorcarried by the member and purchase information about the articlepurchased by the member is inputted. Then, the member is authenticatedwith the inputted ID, and the attribute information about the member isidentified based on the authenticated ID. Then, by checking the purchaseinformation, the identified attribute information and serviceinformation set in association with the attribute information about themember and the kinds of articles and stored in a predetermined storagemechanism (means), service information to be provided for the member isidentified.

Furthermore, the invention is realized as a program for controlling acomputer to function as the server and the terminal device describedabove or a program for causing a computer to execute processingcorresponding to each step of the service provision method describedabove. The program can be provided by distributing it in a magneticdisk, an optical disk, a semiconductor memory or other recording mediaor delivering it via a network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the entire configuration of the service provision systemaccording to the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a typical example of the hardware configuration of a mobileinformation terminal preferable for realizing the mobile informationterminal according to the invention;

FIG. 3 shows a typical example of the hardware configuration of acomputer for realizing the store terminal and the center serveraccording to the invention;

FIG. 4 shows the functional configuration of the mobile informationterminal according to the invention;

FIG. 5 shows the functional configuration of the store terminalaccording to the invention;

FIG. 6 shows the functional configuration of the center server accordingto the invention;

FIG. 7 shows an example of a targeting definition table used accordingto the invention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an overall flow of information processingto be performed in the system according to the invention when a sampleis provided for a member; and

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing another example of information processingto be performed in the system according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

According to the invention, an application program for members with aunique ID attached thereto is downloaded to a mobile informationterminal (information processor) carried by a member and the member isidentified and authenticated with the ID of the application program.Accordingly, it is possible to register personal information about themember with a database and provide a service and information whilesecuring his anonymity and provide a service or information for theparticular person. Furthermore, according to the invention, it ispossible to distribute samples or provide other services withhigh-accuracy targeting detailedly set based on attributes of a memberand the kinds of an article the member has purchased, therebyconsiderably contributing to promotion of consumers' appetite forpurchase of articles.

The embodiments of the invention further realizes a system forregistering members while securing their anonymity to manage personalinformation about the registered member as well as providing detailedservices according to attributes of each member, based on theinformation about the registered members personal information. In thisembodiment, description will be made on a case where provision ofsamples is performed as a service for the members, as an example.

FIG. 1 shows the entire configuration of a service provision systemaccording to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the service provisionsystem of this embodiment comprises a mobile information terminal 100carried by a registered member, a store terminal 200 to be used forproviding services for the registered member, and a center server 300for managing the personal information about the registered member.

The mobile information terminal 100 is a mobile information processor,such as a mobile telephone, a PDA (personal digital assistant) and anotebook computer, which can be carried. In this embodiment, thedescription below is based on the assumption that a mobile telephone isused as the mobile information terminal 100.

The store terminal 200 is realized with a personal computer, aworkstation or other computers and installed in a store where articlesor services are provided. In this embodiment, description will be madeon the assumption that a terminal device (POS terminal) of a POS(point-of-sales) system is used as the store terminal 200.

The center server 300 is realized with a personal computer, aworkstation or other computers and installed in a predeterminedmanagement center.

The mobile information terminal 100, the store terminal 200 and thecenter server 300 are connected via a wired or wireless network. Anynetwork line can be used based on services to be provided or on theoperation form, such as a public network including the Internet and adedicated line. Communication between the mobile information terminal100 and the store terminal 200 can be performed via variouscommunication means. In this embodiment, infrared communication incompliance with IrDA (Infrared Data Association) standard is used.

FIG. 2 shows a typical example of the hardware configuration of a mobiletelephone preferred for realizing the mobile information terminal 100.The mobile telephone shown in FIG. 2 comprises a CPU (central processingunit) 11 which is operation means, memory 12 which is storage means, abaseband LSI 13 for performing signal processing, a wireless circuit 14and an antenna 15 for performing wireless communication via a basestation, an LCD (liquid crystal display) 16 which is input/output meansto be controlled by the CPU 11, a keyboard 17, a microphone 18, aspeaker 19, and a infrared port 20 for performing infrared communicationwith the store terminal 200.

FIG. 2 only illustrates an example of the hardware configuration of amobile telephone realizing this embodiment, and various otherconfigurations are also possible only if this embodiment can be appliedthereto. For example, it is also possible to mount a CCD image sensor.

FIG. 3 shows a typical example of the hardware configuration of acomputer preferable for realizing the store terminal 200 and the centerserver 300. The computer shown in FIG. 3 comprises a CPU (centralprocessing unit) 21 which is operation means, a main memory 23 connectedto the CPU 21 via an M/B (mother board) chip set 22 and a CPU bus, avideo card 24 which is also connected to the CPU 21 via the M/B chip set22 and an AGP (accelerated graphics port); a magnetic disk device (HDD)25 connected to the M/B chip set 22 via a PCI (peripheral componentinterconnect) bus, a network interface 26, a infrared port 30 forperforming infrared communication with other equipment, and a floppy(TM) disk drive 28 and a keyboard/mouse 29 connected to the M/B chip set22 via a bridge circuit 27 and a low-speed bus such as an ISA (industrystandard architecture) bus from the PCI bus.

FIG. 3 only illustrates an example of the hardware configuration of acomputer realizing this embodiment, and various other configurations arepossible only if this embodiment can be applied thereto. For example, itis also possible to mount only a video memory instead of providing avideo card 24 so that image data is processed by the CPU 21. It is alsopossible to provide drives such as a CD-R (compact disc recordable) anda DVD-RAM (digital versatile disc random access memory) via interfacessuch as an ATA (AT attachment) and a SCSI (small computer systeminterface), as external storage devices. In the case where the storeterminal 200 is realized with) a POS terminal, there is provided aninput device such as bar code reader for inputting purchase information.Since the center server 300 is connected to other equipment via aregular network line as described above, the infrared port 30 is notnecessarily required for the configuration of the center server 300.Furthermore, in the case where the mobile information terminal 100 isrealized with a notebook computer and the like, the configuration willbe such shown in FIG. 3.

In this embodiment, the user of the mobile information terminal 100 isregistered as a member, and the personal information about theregistered member is managed by the center server 300. The memberregistration is performed by the mobile information terminal 100downloading an application program for management of members(hereinafter referred to as a member application) from the center server300. An individually unique ID (hereinafter referred to as anapplication ID) is given to the member application. In the system ofthis embodiment, the application ID is checked to identify the membereach time a service for members is provided. Therefore, the user of themobile information terminal 100 is not required to send personalinformation (personal identification information) identifying the userhimself, such as the name and the address, to the center server 300 orthe store terminal 200 even when performing the member registration orreceiving a service. That is, the anonymity of the member can besecured.

The member application can be in any form operative on the mobileinformation terminal 100, and in this embodiment, it is assumed to berealized with a Java® (U.S. Sun Microsystems, Inc.) application which isavailable on a lot of information terminals such as a mobile telephone.The member application controls management of the personal informationto be registered with the center server 300, by the mobile informationterminal 100, and processing for sending and receiving informationrequired for a service, which will be described in detail later.

FIG. 4 shows the functional configuration of the mobile informationterminal 100. As shown in FIG. 4, the mobile information terminal 100comprises an input/output management section 101, a communicationmanagement section 102, an application management section 103, a memberinformation management section 104 and a member information storagesection 105 as member information management means, a serviceinformation management section 106 and a service information storagesection 107 as service information management means, and a questionnairemanagement section 108 and a questionnaire storage section 109 asquestionnaire management means.

The service information may be various information prepared forproviding services for the members and include various data files to beelectronically handled, such as article information, discountinformation and other sales information, and digital contents usinganimations and voices. As for sample information, which is to bedescribed later, the sample itself which is to be provided for membersis not a data file. However, since the information instructing whichsample is to be provided for which member is treated as a data file, andtherefore, the sample can be regarded as a form of service information.

In the configuration shown in FIG. 4, the input/output managementsection 101, the communication management section 102, the applicationmanagement section 103, the member information management section 104,the service information management section 106 and the questionnairemanagement section 108 are virtual functional blocks realized, forexample, by the program-controlled CPU 11 shown in FIG. 2. The memberinformation storage section 105, the service information storage section107 and the questionnaire storage section 109 are realized, for example,by the memory 12 in FIG. 2.

The input/output management section 101 and the communication managementsection 102 can utilize the functions originally provided for the mobiletelephone to perform an ordinary telephone call or data communication.Meanwhile, the application management section 103, the memberinformation management section 104, the service information managementsection 106 and the questionnaire management section 108 are functionsto be realized by the member application downloaded from the centerserver 300.

The input/output management section 101 manages input and output such asdisplay output by the LCD 16, input via the keyboard 17, voice input viathe microphone 18 and voice output via the speaker 19 in FIG. 2.

The communication management section 102 manages the wireless circuit 14in FIG. 2 to manage communication (telephone calls and datacommunication) via the mobile telephone communication network. It alsomanages the infrared port 20 to manage infrared communication to beperformed with the store terminal 200. The application managementsection 103 performs overall control of various functions realized bythe member application.

The member information storage section 105 stores the member informationabout the registered member who is the user of the mobile informationterminal 100, and the member information management section 104 executesprocessing such as registration, update and deletion of the memberinformation. In this embodiment, the mobile information terminal 100 (orthe user thereof) is identified by the application ID given to themember application which the mobile information terminal 100 hasdownloaded and uses, as described above. Accordingly, the memberinformation handled in this case does not include persona informationsuch as the name and the address but includes information on personalattributes (personal attribute information) such as interests,preferences, age, sex and occupation. Specific contents of the personalattribute information (that is, what should be used as the personalattribute information) can be arbitrarily defined. It is not necessaryto set all the items of the member information as essential registrationitems.

The member information (personal attribute information) is inputted withthe input means such as the keyboard 17 shown in FIG. 2. The inputtedmember information is stored in the member information storage section105 and is also sent to the center server 300. The application ID isalso stored in the member information storage section 105 in addition tothe member information. In the case where points are added upon purchaseof articles and the like and services are provided according to theaccumulated points, point information is also stored in the memberinformation storage section 105.

The service information storage section 107 stores service informationsent from the store terminal 200 or the center server 300, and theservice information management section 106 performs registration, updateand deletion of the service information. The service informationincludes article information, digital contents (such as animations andmusic), and the like.

The questionnaire storage section 109 stores an answer form forquestionnaire on a sample (hereinafter referred to as a questionnaireform) sent from the store terminal 200, and the questionnaire managementsection 108 performs input to and update and deletion of thequestionnaire form.

The answer into the questionnaire form is inputted with the input meanssuch as the keyboard 17 shown in FIG. 2, and the inputted answer isstored in the questionnaire storage section 109 and sent to the centerserver 300.

FIG. 5 shows the functional configuration of the store terminal 200. Asshown in FIG. 5, the store terminal 200 comprises a communicationmanagement section 201, an overall control section 202, a purchaseinformation management section 203, a purchase information input section204, a service information management section 205 and a serviceinformation storage section 206 as service information management means,a sample distribution management section 207 and a sample informationstorage section 208 as sample information management means, and aquestionnaire management section 209 and a questionnaire storage section210 as questionnaire management means.

In the configuration shown in FIG. 5, the communication managementsection 201, the overall control section 202, the service informationmanagement section 205, the sample distribution management section 207and the questionnaire management section 209 are virtual functionalblocks realized, for example, with the program-controlled CPU 21 shownin FIG. 3. The purchase information management section 203, the serviceinformation storage section 206, the sample information storage section208 and the questionnaire storage section 210 are realized, for example,with the main memory 23 and the magnetic disk device 25 shown in FIG. 3.The purchase information input section 204 is realized with the CPU 11shown in FIG. 2 and input means such as a bar-code reader and akeyboard.

The communication management section 201, the purchase informationmanagement section 203 and the purchase information input section 204can utilize the functions originally provided for the POS terminal inorder to perform the ordinary purchase information collection job of thePOS terminal. The communication management section 201 managescommunication with the center server 300 via the network interface 26 inFIG. 3 and controls the infrared port 30 to manage infraredcommunication to be performed with the mobile information terminal 100.The overall control section 202 performs overall control of the variousfunctions of the store terminal 200.

The purchase information input section 204 inputs purchase informationattached to an article by reading a bar code or performing input to akeyboard. The purchase information management section 203 calculates theamount and the points to be added based on the purchase informationinputted by the purchase information input section 204, and sends thepurchase information to the center server 300. The service informationstorage section 206 stores information to be provided for the members asservices (service information), and the service information managementsection 205 performs registration, update, deletion andsending/receiving of the service information. The service information issent from the center server 300 and stored in the service informationstorage section 206, and then sent to the mobile information terminal100 of the member is to be provided with the service information viainfrared communication.

The sample information storage section 208 stores information aboutsamples distributed to the members (the kinds, the quantity of stock andthe like of the samples), and the sample distribution management section207 performs registration, update and deletion of the sampleinformation. It also determines whether to delivery a sample or not,which sample to be delivered and the like in response to access from aparticular mobile information terminal 100. The sample information issent from the center server 300 and stored in the sample informationstorage section 208.

The questionnaire storage section 210 stores a questionnaire form foreach sample sent from the center server 300, and the questionnairemanagement section 209 performs registration, update, deletion andsending/receiving of the questionnaire form. The questionnaire form issent from the center server 300 and stored in the questionnaire storagesection 210, and then sent to the mobile information terminal 100 of themember to whom the sample has been delivered, via infraredcommunication. The questionnaire management section 209 can also receivean answer to the questionnaire, sent from the mobile informationterminal 100, and once store it in the questionnaire storage section 210to relay and send it to the center server 300.

FIG. 6 shows the functional configuration of the center server 300. Asshown in FIG. 6, the center server 300 comprises a communicationmanagement section 301, an overall control section 302, a memberinformation management section 303 and a member information storagesection 304 as member information management means, a serviceinformation management section 305 and a service information storagesection 306 as service information management means, a sampledistribution management section 307 and a sample information storagesection 308 as sample information management means, and a questionnairemanagement section 309 and a questionnaire storage section 310 and anapplication storage section 311 as questionnaire management means.

In the configuration shown in FIG. 6, the communication managementsection 301, the overall control section 302, the member informationmanagement section 303, the service information management section 305,the sample distribution management section 307 and the questionnairemanagement section 309 are virtual functional blocks realized, forexample, by the program-controlled CPU 21 shown in FIG. 3. The memberinformation storage section 304, the service information storage section306, the sample information storage section 308, the questionnairestorage section 310 and the application storage section 311 arerealized, f or example, by the main memory 23 or the magnetic diskdevice 25 in FIG. 3.

The communication management section 301 manages communication to beperformed with the store terminal 200 and the mobile informationterminal 100, via the network interface 26 in FIG. 3. The overallcontrol section 302 performs overall control of the various functions ofthe center server 300.

The member information storage section 304 stores the member informationabout each registered member and the application ID of the memberapplication downloaded by the mobile information terminal 100 of eachregistered member in association with each other. The member informationmanagement section 303 utilizes the application ID to perform memberauthentication and registration, update and deletion of the memberinformation. The application ID to be acquired is that given to themember application downloaded to the mobile information terminal 100 (orwhich is given when the member application is downloaded). The memberinformation sent from the mobile information terminal 100 when themember application is downloaded, for example, is received and acquired.It is assumed that the member information can be updated in response tosending from the mobile information terminal 100.

The service information storage section 306 stores service informationto be provided for the members, and the service information managementsection 305 performs registration, update and deletion of the serviceinformation and information editing suitable for each member. Thecontents of the service information are set according to the personalattributes of each member, based on the member information stored in themember information storage section 304 for each member. The contents maybe information on articles which will interest the members withparticular interests, or digital contents such as animations for thecase where such digital contents are provided according to the pointsaccumulated by the members.

The sample information storage section 308 stores information aboutsamples to be distributed to the members, and the sample distributionmanagement section 307 performs registration, update and deletion of thesample information. There is stored a targeting definition tabledefining which sample to be provided to which members with whichattributes, in the sample information storage section 308. The sampledistribution management section 307 can also use the targetingdefinition table to determine whether to distribute samples toparticular members, which sample to be distribute and the like, onbehalf of the sample distribution management section 207 of the storeterminal 200.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the targeting definition table. In thetargeting definition table shown in FIG. 7, in the case of distributingsamples by attaching them to magazines and other articles, theattributes assumed for purchases of the magazines and articles to whichthe sample is attached and the attributes of the members in the memberinformation are set as the classification items. This makes it possibleto define in detail which samples are to be provided for which memberswith which attributes who have purchased which articles.

In the illustrated example, the items (sex, age and occupation) of theattribute information about the member are vertically set, and the itemsof purchased articles are horizontally set. The position at which anyselected two items cross each other (that is, members with the selectedattribute who purchased the selected item) can be considered as atarget. In the illustrated example, the members with the attributes of{sex: female; age group: 20 to 24, or 25 to 29; occupation: officeworker} who purchased the article A or the article B (the areas shown ingray) are targeted, and it is defined that a sample of a new brandlipstick should be distributed to the members. Similarly, the memberswith the attributes {sex: female; age group: 20 to 24; occupation:housewife} who purchased the article C or the article D (the areasmarked with diagonal lines) are targeted, and it is defined that asample of detergent produced from new natural material should bedistributed to the members.

In the case where a sample is simply attached to an article as has beendone conventionally, the sample is provided for a consumer who haspurchased a particular article irrespective of the consumer'sattributes, and thereby the targeting accuracy is limited. The same goesfor the case where the target to be provided with a sample is identifiedonly based on the attributes of registered members. The areas surroundedby bold lines in FIG. 7 show an example of a target selected by such aprior-art approach.

In contrast, in this embodiment, the target to be provided with a sampleis defined in detail based on the attributes of members and thepurchased articles as described above, thereby enhancing the targetingaccuracy. The questionnaire storage section 310 stores a questionnaireform for each sample, and the questionnaire management section 309performs registration, update, deletion and sending/receiving of thequestionnaire form and the answer(s) to the questionnaire.

The application storage section 311 stores a member application. Themember application is read by the overall control section 302 whichfunctions as application program sending control means in response to adownload request from the mobile information terminal 100 and sent tothe mobile information terminal 100. A unique application ID is given bythe overall control section 302 then. The application ID is stored inthe member information storage section 304 as described above and usedas authentication information about the mobile information terminal 100(or the user thereof).

A service provision method according to this embodiment will be nowdescribed for the case where samples suitable for individual members areprovided as a service for the members. As preprocessing, it isdetermined, in response to a request by a company selling a particulararticle, to provide a particular sample for members with particularattributes, and a targeting definition table as shown in FIG. 7 andinformation such as the number of samples to be distributed are storedin the sample information storage section 308 of the center server 300.In the case where the sample distribution results are investigated, aquestionnaire on the sample is prepared, and then the questionnaire formis delivered to the store terminal 200 and stored in the questionnairestorage section 210. Identification information identifying thequestionnaire form and the sample are associated with each other, andthe association information is stored in the questionnaire storagesection 310 of the center server 300. The samples to the distributed arethen prepared at each store

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a overall flow of information processingto be performed in the system of this embodiment when a sample isprovided for a member. Referring to FIG. 8, a consumer who is a memberactivates a member application on his mobile information terminal 100when purchasing a desired article at a store (step 801). The applicationmanagement section 103 then sends an application ID to the storeterminal 200 through infrared communication via the communicationmanagement section 102 (step 802). The application ID sent from themobile information terminal 100 is received at the communicationmanagement section 201 of the store terminal 200. That is, thecommunication management section 201 and the infrared port 30 shown inFIG. 3 function as means for inputting the application ID, informationidentifying the member.

A salesperson operates the purchase information input section 204 (suchas reading of the bar code) of the store terminal 200, a POS terminal,to input purchase information about the purchased article (step 803).The purchase information is sent to the center server 300 together withthe application ID received at step 802, via the communicationmanagement section 201 (step 804).

Separately from the processing according to this embodiment, thepurchase information inputted at step 803 is utilized by the purchaseinformation management section 203 for performing ordinary POS-systemprocessing (amount calculation, point calculation, acquisition ofinformation on sales results and the like).

When the center server 300 receives the application ID and the purchaseinformation about the article from the store terminal 200 via thecommunication management section 301, the member information managementsection 303 uses the application ID to authenticate the member and readsthe member information (personal attribute information) about theauthenticated member from the member information storage section 304(step 805). The sample distribution management section 307 then checksthe member information read at step 805 against the targeting definitiontable to see if there is any sample to be provided for the member. Ifthere is any sample to be provided, the kind of the sample is identified(step 806).

Furthermore, the questionnaire management section 309 checks to see ifthere is a questionnaire for the sample identified at step 806. If thereis a questionnaire, the questionnaire management section 309 readsidentification information identifying the questionnaire form from thequestionnaire storage section 310 (step 807). The overall controlsection 302 then sends the information identifying the sample and theinformation identifying the questionnaire form to the store terminal 200via the communication management section 301 (step 808).

When the store terminal 200 receives the information sent from thecenter server 300 via the communication management section 201, theoverall control section 202 displays information (the identificationinformation or the name) indicating the sample to be provided based onthe received information (step 809). The salesperson refers to thedisplay to hand an appropriate sample to the consumer who is the member.When handing the sample, the salesperson inputs individual informationabout the sample (for example, reads the bar code attached to thesample) (step 810). By collecting such inputted individual sampleinformation, the sample distribution results can be managed.

When the store terminal 200 receives information identifying aquestionnaire together with the information identifying a sample, thequestionnaire management section 209 reads the questionnaire formindicated by the identification information, that is, a questionnaireform corresponding to the sample to be provided, from the questionnairestorage section 210 and sends it to the mobile information terminal 100through infrared communication via the communication management section201 (step 811). This questionnaire form is received by the communicationmanagement section 102 of the mobile information terminal 100 andstored, in the questionnaire storage section 109 by the questionnairemanagement section 108.

The member can display the received questionnaire form with the displaymeans (the LCD 16 in FIG. 2) of the mobile information terminal 100,input the answer and then returns it to the store terminal 200 or thecenter server 300. When the answer is returned to the store terminal200, it is once stored in the questionnaire storage section 210 of thestore terminal 200, and then transferred to the center server 300. Inorder to return the answer to the store terminal 200, the infraredcommunication used for sending the application ID and receiving thequestionnaire form can be used. In order to return it directly to thecenter server 300, data communication via a mobile telephonecommunication network can be utilized. Even when the mobile informationterminal 100 is any information processor other than a mobile telephone,it is also possible to configure the processor so that it can send thequestionnaire answer directly to the center server 300 via variouscommunication forms available thereto. By performing questionnaire for asample, collecting answers to the questionnaire, and compiling andanalyzing the answers as described above, it is possible to obtain theconsumers' reactions on and impressions of the sample and therebyreflect them to the sales strategy for the article.

In the operation example shown in FIG. 8, the application ID and thepurchase information about the article are inputted at the storeterminal 200 and sent to the center server 300, and then a sample to beprovided for the member is determined at the center server 300. However,according to this embodiment, it is also possible for the store terminal200 to acquire necessary information from the center server 300 anddetermine a sample to be provided for the member. FIG. 9 is a flowchartshowing the overall flow of information processing to be performed in asystem of this embodiment in such a case.

In FIG. 9, the operations of activating a member application at themobile information terminal 100 (step 901) and sending the applicationID to the store terminal 200 (step 902) are similar to those performedat the steps 801 and 802 in FIG. 8. The store terminal 200 sends theapplication ID received at step 902 to the center server 300 (step 903),via the communication management section 201 (step 903).

When the center server 300 receives the application ID and the purchaseinformation about the article from the store terminal 200 via thecommunication management section 301, the member information managementsection 303 uses the application ID to authenticate the member and readsthe member information (personal attribute information) about theauthenticated member from the member information storage section 304(step 904). The sample distribution management section 307 then checksthe member information read at step 904 against the targeting definitiontable, extracts a column in the targeting definition table correspondingto the attributes of the member (step 905) and sends the information ofthe extracted column to the store terminal 200 via the communicationmanagement section 301 (step 906). This information becomes a tabledefining which sample is to be provided according to articles purchasedby the member identified by the application ID inputted at step 902. Thesent information is stored in the sample information storage section 202by the sample distribution management section 207 at the store terminal200.

At the store terminal 200, the salesperson operates the purchaseinformation input section 204 to input the purchase information aboutthe purchased article (step 907) This purchase information is utilizedfor the ordinary POS-system processing and is checked by the sampledistribution management section 207 against the column information inthe targeting definition table stored in the sample distributionmanagement section 207. Based on the checking, the sample distributionmanagement section 207 identifies a sample to be provided for the memberwho is identified by the application ID inputted at step 902 and who haspurchased an article indicated by the purchase information of step 907(step 908). The overall control section 202 displays informationindicating the sample to be provided on the display (step 909). Thesalesperson refers to the display to hand an appropriate sample to theconsumer who is the member. When handing the sample, the salespersoninputs individual information about the sample in order to manage thesample distribution results (step 910).

The questionnaire management section 209 checks to see if there is aquestionnaire for the sample identified at step 908. If there is aquestionnaire, the questionnaire management section 209 reads aquestionnaire form therefor from the questionnaire storage section 210,and sends it to the mobile information terminal 100 through infraredcommunication via the communication management section 201 (step 911).Collection and utilization of the questionnaire answers is as describedabove.

As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible thatmanagement of members and determination of a service to be provided fora member are all performed by the center server 300 and only input ofnecessary information (application ID and purchase information) andoutput of a service to be provided for a member are performed by thestore terminal 200 (in the case of FIG. 8), and it is also possible thatdetermination of a service to be provided for a member is shared andexecuted by the center server 300 and the store terminal 200 (in thecase of FIG. 9).

In the embodiment described above, explanation has been made on the casewhere samples suitable for individual members are distributed as aservice for the members, it is also possible to provide other variousservices using the system for member registration, management andauthentication, which secures anonymity of members, according to thisembodiment. For example, digital contents such as animations and musiccan be provided according to the attributes of members, and articleinformation (advertisement and other information for sales promotion)and discount information can be notified.

In this case, as preprocessing for providing a service, it is determinedthat a predetermined service (digital contents or information) is to beprovided for members with particular attributes, and a target definitiontable as shown in FIG. 7 and information such as a service provisionperiod are stored in the service information storage section 306 of thecenter server 300 for the sample. According to procedures similar tothose shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a service defined in the targetingdefinition table is provided for a member who has purchased a particulararticle based on the attributes of the member and the kind of thepurchased article.

It has been described that, in the case of providing a sample, theinformation about the sample to be provided is displayed on the displayon the store terminal 200 (refer to steps 809 and 909). In the case ofproviding digital contents or particular information, however,reproduction of digital contents or display output of information may beperformed on the mobile information terminal 100 by providing the memberapplication downloaded to the mobile information terminal 100 withfunctions of reproducing digital contents or displaying information.

In these services other than a sample, it is also possible to performquestionnaire to obtain consumers' reactions and impressions. Thequestionnaire can be performed in a way similar to those in FIGS. 8 and9.

It is common that a POS system provides a service of adding pointsaccording to the purchase amount or the number of purchases by membersand providing a giveaway or discounting according to the accumulatedpoints. The points can be managed with the use of this embodiment.

In this case, though calculation and management of the points can beperformed by the ordinary POS-terminal functions of the store terminal200, the points may be stored in the member information storage section304 of the center server 300 and managed as attribute information aboutmembers. It makes it possible to, when providing a sample or a servicefor a member, set a sample or a service to be provided according to thepoints.

After authentication with the application ID, the point informationabout the authenticated member can be sent to the mobile informationterminal 100 via the store terminal 200 or directly from the centerserver 300. The member can display the point information received fromthe store terminal 200 or the center server 300 with the applicationmanagement section 103 of the mobile information terminal 100 to checkthe current point.

Furthermore, by indicating the points with digital contents using adifferent image or a character according to the point, checking of thepoint information with the mobile information terminal 100 can befacilitated.

Furthermore, with the use of the member management system according tothis embodiment, it is possible to deliver information to the mobileinformation terminal 100 not via the store terminal 200 but directly. Inthis case, the member application to be downloaded from the centerserver 300 is provided with a function of accessing the center server300 to request sending of information. The application ID is directlysent to the center server 300 from the mobile information terminal 100on which the member application operates to request authentication, andthen information is received from the center server 300.

By enabling an activation condition, such as the time to access, to beset for the access function of the member application, the memberapplication of the mobile information terminal 100 can be automaticallyactivated and access the center server 300 to acquire information if thecondition desired by the member such as a preset time is satisfied.

In this information delivery method, it is also possible to setinformation to be delivered according to the attributes of membersmanaged by the center server 300. As for the information to be deliveredand the attributes of the members to whom the information should bedelivered, a correspondence table such as the targeting definition tableshown in FIG. 7 is created and stored in the service information storagesection 306.

The center server 300 accepts access from the mobile informationterminal 100; the member information management section 303, afterauthenticating a member with the application ID, reads the memberinformation (personal attribute information) of the identified memberfrom the member information storage section 304; and the serviceinformation management section 305 reads information corresponding tothe member information from the service information storage section 306and returns it to the mobile information terminal 100.

The information delivery method as described above, in which the mobileinformation terminal 100 accesses the center server 300 to acquireinformation unlike a push-type information delivery from a server viae-mail, can be said to be a pull-type information delivery. According tothis method, information is not sent one-sidedly from a server but isacquired by a member at his desired time. Furthermore, since informationis received via a function provided by a member application, it is notrequired to disclose an e-mail address to the center server 300 and theinformation can be acquired while anonymity is secured.

These days, in the push-type information delivery method via e-mail, therate of arrival of provided information at destination users hassignificantly decreased with increase in the number of users who setrefusal of receiving e-mails sent from addresses such as “ . . . co jp”and “ . . . com”. In contrast, according to the above-describedpull-type information delivery method using this embodiment, informationcan be acquired at the user's convenience and anonymity can be securedwhen acquiring the information, so that feelings of resistance towardacquisition of information is reduced and information can be effectivelydelivered.

In this embodiment described above, explanation has been made on a casewhere a POS terminal is used as the store terminal 200, as an example.This is because, when providing a sample as a service, it is effectiveto send and receive information at the payment and then provide theservice. However, the operation of sending an application ID to thestore terminal 200 from the mobile information terminal 100 forauthentication and the operation of acquiring various serviceinformation at the mobile information terminal 100 are not necessarilyrequired to be performed at the payment. Accordingly, by installing astore terminal 200 (such as a kiosk terminal) configured separately fromthe POS terminal in the store, a member can communicate with the storeterminal 200 from his mobile information terminal 100 in order to beauthenticated prior to purchase of an article or to acquire serviceinformation to be provided according to points separately frompurchasing an article.

On a shopping street or in a shopping mall, it is also possible toinstall a store terminal 200 outside a store so that a member can beauthenticated via the store terminal 200 and enjoy a service such asprovision of a sample when purchasing an article at any store on theshopping street.

It is also possible to install only an input/output device of a storeterminal 200 at a suitable place, instead of installing a store terminal200 such as a kiosk terminal inside or outside a store, so that a memberhimself can input his application ID to acquire a questionnaire form orservice information. That is, an input/output device with an infraredport is installed at a predetermined place, and input and output ofinformation with the input/output device is controlled by a storeterminal 200 realized by a POS terminal and the like. As describedlater, in the case where an application ID is inputted via a bar code,it is also possible to install a bar code reader at a particular placeso that input into the bar code reader is received by the communicationmanagement section 201 of a store terminal 200.

When only input is performed with an external device as in this case, aquestionnaire form or service information is sent via data communicationmeans such as a mobile telephone communication network or a wireless LAN(local area network) according to the kind of the mobile informationterminal 100.

In this embodiment described above, communication means between themobile information terminal 100 and the store terminal 200 is infraredcommunication. However, it goes without saying that information can besent and received via other various means. For example, it is possibleto input information into a store terminal 200 by displaying a bar codeindicating an application ID or a coupon image indicating the pointsaccumulated by a member on display means (the LCD 16 in FIG. 2) of amobile information terminal 100 and causing it to be read by a bar codereader or an image sensor provided for the store terminal 200. It isalso possible to send and receive data via data communication using awireless communication technique such as Bluetooth (trademark owned byBluetooth SIG, Inc. of United States). By using Bluetooth, it is alsopossible that, when a member carrying a mobile information terminal 100enters a store (or coming up at a predetermined distance from a storeterminal 200), an application ID is sent to the store terminal 200 fromthe mobile information terminal 100 in order to be authenticated.

While the invention has been described in terms of preferredembodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the inventioncan be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of theappended claims.

1. A service provision system, comprising: a server for managinginformation about members; and a terminal device connected to the servervia a network; the server comprising: member information managementmeans for managing identification information and attribute informationabout the members; and service information management means for managingservice information set in association with the attribute informationabout the members and kinds of articles; and the terminal devicecomprising: purchase information input means for inputting purchaseinformation about an article; and member identification informationinput means for inputting identification information about a member;wherein, in response to purchases of a particular article by the member,the terminal device inputs purchase information about the article andidentification information about the member with the purchaseinformation input means and the member identification information inputmeans to send the information to the server, and the server identifiesthe attribute information about the member corresponding to the receivedidentification information and identifies the service informationmanaged by the service information management means using the attributeinformation and the purchase information.
 2. The service provisionsystem according to claim 1, wherein: the service information managementmeans of the server manages information about samples to be distributedto the member as the service information and returns the sampleinformation identified using the identification information and thepurchase information, to the terminal device; and the terminal deviceoutputs information indicating a sample to be distributed to the memberwho has purchased the particular article based on the sample informationreturned from the server.
 3. The service provision system according toclaim 1, wherein: the server further comprises: application storagemeans storing an application program for management of the members; andapplication program sending control means for giving a unique ID to theapplication program stored in the application storage means and sendingthe application program to a particular information processor; and theterminal device inputs the unique ID of the application program via themember identification information input means to send the unique ID tothe server; and the member information management means of the servermanages the unique ID given to the application program by theapplication program sending control means as authentication informationabout a member who is the user of the information processor, and, whenreceiving the unique ID from the terminal device, performsauthentication using the unique ID.
 4. The service provision systemaccording to claim 3, wherein: the service information management meansof the server manages data files available in the application program asthe service information and returns a data file identified using theidentification information and the purchase information, to the terminaldevice; and the terminal device returns the data file, the serviceinformation returned from the server, to the information processor. 5.The service provision system according to claim 1, wherein: the terminaldevice further comprises a questionnaire storage means for storingquestionnaire forms created according to the kinds of the serviceinformation to be provided for the members; and the server sendsinformation identifying a questionnaire form to be distributed to aparticular member together with the service information, to the terminaldevice.
 6. The service provision system according to claim 1, whereinthe terminal device is a terminal of a POS (point-of-sales) system.
 7. Aservice provision system comprising: a server for managing informationabout members; and a terminal device connected to the server via anetwork; the server comprising: member information management means formanaging identification information and attribute information about themembers; and service information management means for managing serviceinformation set in association with the attribute information about themembers and kinds of articles; and the terminal device comprising:purchase information input means for inputting purchase informationabout an article; and member identification information input means forinputting identification information about a member; wherein, inresponse to purchases of a particular article by the member, theterminal device inputs identification information about the member viathe member identification information input means to send theidentification information to the server; the server identifies theattribute information about the member corresponding to theidentification information and identifies service information associatedwith the attribute information among the service information managed bythe service information management means and returns the serviceinformation to the terminal device; and the terminal device identifies aservice to be provided for the member using article purchase informationinputted by the purchase information input means and the serviceinformation returned by the server.
 8. The service provision systemaccording to claim 7, wherein: the service information management meansof the server manages information about samples to be distributed to themembers as the service information; and the terminal device determines asample to be distributed to the member who has purchased the particulararticle based on the sample information returned from the server.
 9. Theservice provision system according to claim 7, wherein: the serverfurther comprises: application storage means storing an applicationprogram for management of members; and application program sendingcontrol means for giving a unique ID to the application program storedin the application storage means and sending the application program toa particular information processor; and the terminal device inputs theID of the application program via the member identification informationinput means to send the ID to the server; and the member informationmanagement means of the server manages the ID given to the applicationprogram by the application program sending control means asauthentication information about a member who is the user of theinformation processor, and, when receiving the ID from the terminaldevice, performs authentication using the ID.
 10. The service provisionsystem according to claim 9, wherein: the service information managementmeans of the server manages data files available in the applicationprogram as the service information; and the terminal device returns thedata file, the service information returned from the server, to theinformation processor.
 11. The service provision system according toclaim 7, wherein: the terminal device further comprises a questionnairestorage means for storing questionnaire forms created according to thekinds of the service information to be provided for the members; and theserver sends information identifying a questionnaire form to bedistributed to a particular member together with the serviceinformation, to the terminal device.
 12. A service provision systemaccording to claim 7, wherein the terminal device is a terminal of a POS(point-of-sales) system.
 13. A server comprising: sending/receivingmeans for sending/receiving data to/from other information processorsvia a network; application storage means storing an application programfor management of members; application program sending control means forgiving a unique ID to the application program stored in the applicationstorage means and controlling the sending/receiving means to send theapplication program to a particular information processor; memberinformation management means for managing the unique ID given to theapplication program by the application program sending control means asauthentication information about a member who is the user of theinformation processor; and service information management means formanaging service information to be provided for particular members inassociation with information about the members to be provided withservices; wherein, in response to a receipt of the unique ID of theapplication program from a particular information processor, the memberinformation management means performs authentication using the uniqueID, and the service information management means identifies serviceinformation to be provided for a member identified by the authenticatedunique ID.
 14. The server according to claim 13, wherein the serviceinformation management means manages information about samples to bedistributed to members who satisfy a predetermined condition as theservice information.
 15. The server according to claim 13, wherein theservice information management means manages data files available in theapplication program as the service information.
 16. The server accordingto claim 13, wherein: the member information management means managesidentification information and attribute information about the membersin association with each other; and the service information managementmeans manages service information set in association with the attributeinformation about the members.
 17. A server comprising:sending/receiving means for sending/receiving data to/from otherinformation processors via a network; member information managementmeans for managing identification information and attribute informationabout the members; and service information management means for managingservice information set in association with the attribute informationabout the members and kinds of articles; wherein the server receivesidentification information about a member and purchase information aboutan article which the member has purchased, from a particular informationprocessor with the sending/receiving means, identifies attributeinformation about the member corresponding to the receivedidentification information and identifies a service to be provided forthe member who has purchased the article using the attribute informationand the purchase information.
 18. The server according to claim 17,wherein the service information management means manages informationabout samples to be distributed to the members who satisfy apredetermined condition as the service information.
 19. The serveraccording to claim 17, wherein the service information management meansmanages data files available in the application program as the serviceinformation.
 20. A terminal device for inputting purchase informationabout an article; the terminal device comprising: purchase informationinput means for inputting the purchase information; memberidentification information input means for inputting memberidentification information identifying a member who purchases thearticle; service information acquisition means for acquiring serviceinformation associated with the member identification informationinputted by the member identification information input means, from aserver; and service identifying means for identifying a service to beprovided for the member using the purchase information inputted by thepurchase information input means and the service information acquired bythe service information acquisition means.
 21. The terminal deviceaccording to claim 20, wherein: the service information acquisitionmeans acquires information about samples to be distributed to the memberas the service information; and the service identifying means determinesa sample to be distributed to the member who has purchased a particulararticle based on the acquired sample information.
 22. The terminaldevice according to claim 20, further comprising: questionnaire storagemeans for storing a questionnaire forms created according to the kindsof the service information to be provided for the members; wherein, whenproviding a particular service for a particular member, the terminaldevice outputs a questionnaire form corresponding to the service storedin the questionnaire storage means.
 23. A service provision method forproviding a service for a member using a computer, the method comprisingthe steps of: giving a ID to an application program for management ofmembers to send the application program to a particular informationprocessor, storing the ID in a predetermined storage means, and managingthe ID as authentication information about a member who is the user ofthe information processor; in response to purchases of a particulararticle by the member, inputting the ID of the application program fromthe information processor carried by the member and inputting purchaseinformation about the article purchased by the member; authenticatingthe member with the inputted ID of the application program; identifyingattribute information about the member based on the authenticated ID;and checking the purchase information, the identified attributeinformation and service information set in association with theattribute information about the member and kinds of articles and storedin a predetermined storage means to identify information about a serviceto be provided for the member.
 24. The service provision methodaccording to claim 23, further comprising the step of sending a datafile available in the application program to the information processorcarried by the member as a service to be provided for the member.
 25. Aservice provision method for providing a service for a member using acomputer, the method comprising the steps of: in response to purchasesof a particular article by the member, inputting identificationinformation about the member and purchase information about the articlepurchased by the member; searching predetermined storage means in whichidentification information and attribute information are stored inassociation with each other, based on the inputted identificationinformation, to identify attribute information associated with theidentification information; and searching predetermined storage meanswhich stores service information set in association with the attributeinformation and kinds of articles, based on the identified attributeinformation, to identify a service to be provided for the member who haspurchased the article.
 26. A program for controlling a computer tomanage provision of a service for a member, the program being providedin a magnetic disk, an optical disk, or a semiconductor memory, andcausing the computer to function as: first means for sending/receivingdata to/from other information processors via a network and receivingidentification information about the member and purchase informationabout an article which the member has purchased, from a particularinformation processor; second means for managing identificationinformation and attribute information about the member; third means formanaging service information set in association with the attributeinformation about the member and kinds of articles; and fourth means foridentifying the attribute information about the member corresponding tothe received identification information and identifying a service to beprovided for the member who has purchased the article using theattribute information and the purchase information.
 27. The programaccording to claim 26, further comprising the step of causing thecomputer to manage information about samples to be distributed tomembers who satisfy a predetermined condition as the serviceinformation, as a function of the second means.
 28. The programaccording to claim 26, further comprising the step of causing thecomputer to manage data files available in the application program asthe service information, as a function of the second means.
 29. Aprogram for controlling a computer to manage information about purchaseof articles by members, the program being provided in a magnetic disk,an optical disk, or a semiconductor memory, and causing the computer tofunction as: means for, when a particular member purchases an article,inputting the purchase information about the article; means forinputting member identification information identifying the member whopurchases the article; means for acquiring service informationassociated with the inputted member identification information, from apredetermined server; and means for checking the inputted purchaseinformation and the service information acquired from the server toidentify a service to be provided for the member.
 30. The programaccording to claim 29, wherein: the means for acquiring the serviceinformation from a server acquires information about samples to beprovided for the member as the service information; and the means foridentifying the service determines a sample to be distributed to themember who has purchased the particular article based on the acquiredsample information.
 31. The program according to claim 29, furthercomprising causing the computer to function as means for outputting aquestionnaire form corresponding to the provided service, frompredetermined storage means storing questionnaire forms createdaccording to the kinds of the service information to be provided for themember, when providing a particular service for a particular member.